Tis the Season
by garg-girl
Summary: The expedition prepares for their first Christmas in the Pegasus galaxy


**Tis the Season**

_**by garggirl**_

Disclaimer:   
All characters appearing in this fic are copyright Cooper/Wright Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of garggirl.

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**_Author's Note_**: I realize Christmas is a long way off, but this little plot-bunny would not leave me alone. This is for all you Shweir shippers out there.

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Atlantis was alive with activity as people rushed about doing last minute odds and ends. With all the flurry of activity, it looked like a colony of ants getting ready for winter. People carried packages and bags, a cardboard cut-out of a Santa stood near the Stargate. Window paintings adorned every available window throughout the current living areas sporting Christmas, Hanukah, and general winter themes.

People, who were normally in a grumpy mood, found themselves smiling and being cheerful as others smiled at them. The season was in full swing as everyone was making plans to spend the night with their special ones.

Up high above the city, sailed several puddle jumpers, the atmosphere within which was no different then down below. Everywhere, inhabitants of the planet were happy and cheerful, even the Athosians, who were quite new to the Earth holiday, were getting into the spirit of things. The city was warm with fires blazing in all the large hearths and decorations of greens and reds were hung in doorways and around windows. Sounds of Christmas music blared throughout the city courtesy of the city-wide sound system. In all, it was a joyous time for those of Atlantis.

In the mess hall, the scents of baked goods and pine filled the air. Earlier, Dr. Simpson had commandeered the kitchens and was currently attempting to instruct Teyla on what she considered the finer points of a traditional Earth Christmas. In the dining area, a large and full pine tree stood leaning against the wall waiting to be decorated.

Just as the music changed to the "Dance of the Sugarplum Faeries", the transporter door hissed open and a stack of packages and bags entered the mess hall. The sight gave the impression that the packages and bags were walking on their own accord since the head of the individual carrying them was secreted behind that large stack. Seeing this, several people came forward to offer their assistance.

John devested Elizabeth of the boxes while Rodney and Carson took the bags. Sitting all the items on the floor, Rodney and Carson began to rifle through the bags to see what Elizabeth had brought.

John studied Elizabeth and found her not to be wearing her usual uniform, but instead, she was dressed in a green sweater with snowflakes on it along with black jeans and boots.

Halling, with Jinto in tow, came into the room, followed by Ford a moment later.

Looking around the room, Elizabeth asked, "Where's Teyla?"

With a smile on his lips, Halling answered, "She is in the kitchen with Dr. Simpson. What they are making, I do not know. Neither one will tell us, let alone permit us access."

"I see," Elizabeth replied with a smile, walking over to the bags and boxes that were set aside. She gently pushed away the two doctors who had been digging through them then began to look for something. "Now where are those damn lights?" she muttered.

"These lights?" spoke a voice from behind Elizabeth. With a groan, she turned to find herself face to face with none other then Kavanagh holding the lights she sought.

"Kavanagh, oh-bane-of-my-existence," Rodney grumped. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Carson smiled slightly. "According to thae Bible, t' balance good."

This sent John, Ford and Rodney into a downward spiral of laughter; Elizabeth tried hard not to let her amusment show; and Halling and Jinto regarded their Earth friends with confused expressions

Kavanagh huffed and stormed away, thrusting the string of lights to the floor as he went. He swiped a cup of something from a passing steward and retreated to a shadowy corner to sulk in private.

Elizabeth turned a mock glare at the guys. "Y'know, that really wasn't very nice."

Rodney sipped at his coffee. "Well, we never claimed to be nice."

Rodney and Carson managed to go back to the bags and sneak a few more peeks before being spotted. "Shoo, shoo," Elizabeth said with a smile. The two gave a look of disappointment and abandoned their search.

Bored as everyone was, they waited until Teyla emerged from the kitchens so they could start decorating. The Athosian woman entered the room a while later pushing a cart loaded with cookies, cake, and eggnog among other things. Everyone approached her and soon was stuffing themselves with the rich and delectable treats.

With the treats eaten and bellies full, everyone moved on to decorate the room they were currently standing in. Garland woven with holly were hung along the walls while a wreath was hung on the wall next to the entrance. Candles were set on several tables and lit, giving off scents of cinnamon, pine and berry. The balcony was decked with garland and candles while a wreath was hung above the arch.

The room was soon transformed into a christmasy wonderland. Music intertwined with the sounds of laughter, chatter, and merriment.

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair and smiled at the sight of the people before her. The Earth humans were happy and excited to incorporate new traditions with the old. The Athosians had been told the meaning behind the season and found it interesting, and were more than happy to partake in the festivities.

John, Rodney and Carson were trying to sing along with one of the songs playing, although they were horribly off-key. Rodney laughed out when Carson tried to hit a high note.

After the guys were done thoroughly embarrassing themselves, they gathered around and decided on the best place for the tree. With the tree in its stand, John was honoured with the job of moving it from one place to another hoping that each was the right spot but was agitated each time after hearing Elizabeth say move it "right", "left", "not your right, but mine" too many times. Setting it next to the balcony, John stepped away and moved to stand beside Elizabeth.

"I think it's crooked. See how it's leaning to the right?" She said. John shot her a mock glower.

With a mischievious smile, Rodney casually looked the tree over. "So, are we going to decorate the tree now that it's set up?"

"I'm ready when you guys are," she replied, as she moved in the direction of the bags and packages where the decorations were stored. She looked at her Athosian friends as she pulled out the decorations. "Okay, the first thing to do when decorating the tree is to put on the lights." Elizabeth explained, demonstrating how the lights went on. Teyla, Halling and Jinto caught on and was soon stringing lights onto the six-foot tree.

Before long, the entire tree was aglow and twinkling with white lights. Everyone stood back and watched as the lights twinkled like little stars. The Athosians were amazed at such a simple thing.

"Is this the end of decorating the tree?" asked Jinto.

"No, this just the beginning. We still have to put on the decorations," John explained.

Elizabeth moved away from the group to get a box containing a bunch of glass balls. She showed them to everyone and they were surprised to see that each ball bore the name of a senior staff member.

Carson cradled the ball bearing his name in the palm of his hands. "How'd'ya manage t'do this, lass?"

Elizabeth smiled slightly. "Well, I knew we were going to be here for a while, so I had my sister, who does tole painting, make them up for me. A bit of a morale booster and all." Elizabeth then produced a second box and showed everyone its contents. Inside were all sorts of miscellaneous decorations bearing the names of all the other expedition members.

"And these ones," Elizabeth pulled out a smaller, third box. "I had specially made after our arrival." She held up a miniature wooden Stargate, puddle jumper, and ZPM. She held each up which bore Teyla, Halling, and Jinto's names.

The group found that for such small things they could hold a large meaning behind them. Elizabeth handed the ornaments to everyone and before long, they were strategically placing them around the tree.

With the ornaments hung, Elizabeth introduced the Athosians to tinsel and some holly, which were to be placed on the branches and in any holes that were visible to the naked eye. As she opened her mouth, "Watch the holly. It's got…"

"Ouch," Jinto cried, dropping the holly and putting his finger in his mouth.

"Sharp ends on the leaves," she finished though the information was too late.

Jinto whimpered slightly. Elizabeth shrugged and said, "I tried to warn you." Teyla and Halling took heed to the warning and used caution when handling the holly.

The tree, shortly after adding the tinsel and holly, was near completion. The last two things remaining were the skirt that went under the tree and the topper that went on top. Elizabeth produced the skirt and let Jinto put it at the base of the tree since he was the smallest. The crowning moment came when she revealed a five-point star circled by a ring of green garland.

Offering it to Teyla, she declined so Elizabeth offered it to the others but each refused. Suddenly, Elizabeth lifted off the floor beneath her feet. She turned to find Halling hoisting her up.

"Dr. Weir, since you introduced us to this tradition, it is only fitting that you place the topper on yourself," Halling said with a smile.

Halling lifted her so she could reach the top-most branch. Carefully she placed the star on top and had the others tell her if it was straight. Each gave an answer that was unrelated to the other.

Rodney wearing a smile said, "Perhaps if you stand back a bit you can judge for yourself."

Carson, Teyla and Ford each agreed. Elizabeth sighed and asked Halling to let her down. He promptly complied and Elizabeth took several steps back next to John to look the tree over. When the two were standing side by side. Smiles became larger and giggles began to surround them.

John's soldier instincts suddenly kicked in and he became aware that something was going on. Elizabeth also became aware of the difference and turned to look at the others who all wore innocent looks upon their faces.

"What?" they asked in union.

Their question was silently answered when everyone pointed to the ceiling. Looking up together, John and Elizabeth found themselves standing under a sprig of mistletoe.

"I do not understand the significance of this small plant." Halling whispered to Teyla.

"Major Sheppard once explained it to me. If one is caught under this plant, which he called mistletoe, you must kiss the closest person to you of the opposite gender." Teyla explained.

John and Elizabeth looked at their friends with identical glowers. Elizabeth muttered something under her breath as she turned to face John. "Well, it is tradition?"

With a slight smile, John pulled Elizabeth closer and captured her lips with his. The kiss was gentle at first but as it intensified, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around John's neck and pulled him closer. Tender lips sought out what they craved and before long, they were satisfied.

Out of breath from the passionate kiss, Elizabeth broke away. John released his hold on her. Elizabeth returned her attention to their spectators. "Is that what you wanted to see?"

No one could utter a word. They were still dumbfounded over the passion behind the kiss they had just witnessed.

"Well if you guys are done playing around I think it's time to move on to the next event of the evening," Elizabeth replied.

"What is left, love?" asked Carson as he filled a cup with tea.

"Presents," she exclaimed with a smile.

"But that's not right," Rodney interjected. "We can't open the presents until tomorrow. It's not officially Christmas yet."

John sat cross-legged on the floor next to the tree. "One present each won't kill us." He carefully selected a small present for each of them and passed them out, then piled the remainder around the tree.

Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at Rodney and Carson's youthful spirits and they held protectively onto their packages. She enjoyed it whenever she saw her team smile.

Elizabeth sat back and watched everyone open their gifts. The looks on their faces were priceless and made her wish she had brought her camera so she could capture these timeless moments on film. Since she didn't have a camera, she would just have to store the images in her mind and remember them that way.

Elizabeth turned back to opening her gift, only to look up when someone announced that a gift from her was being opened. Halling was pleased with the book of myths and legends of Earth cultures. Since she knew Halling was being taught to read English by a marine he had recently became involved with, Elizabeth knew he'd appreciate a chance to put into practice what he had learned.

Her gift was a pewter pendant in the shape of the city itself. It had been polished and made to be smooth to the touch. The stone, suspended from a silver chain, was fastened around her slender neck soon after she opened it. John had personally done the honour, and she whispered a thank you to him for the thoughtful gift.

Before long, the small group had opened their one permitted pre-Christmas present. Soon the night's excitement and events were coming to a close, and everyone began to toddle off to bed. Elizabeth and John did a final sweep of the room to make sure everything was ready for the morning before they to headed out themselves.

Like the gentleman that he was, John escorted Elizabeth back to her room. the pair walked in companionable silence, neither one saying a thing until they reached their destination.

"Thank you again for the beautiful necklace," Elizabeth said softly, almost meekly.

A corner of John's mouth quirked up slightly. "And thank you for that kiss."

Elizabeth smiled and looked down in embarrassment. When she looked back up, she was surprised to see an intense hunger in John's eyes, and she gulped nervously before taking his hand within her smaller, delicate one. Before she realized it, her eyes began to reflect that hungry look.

"I'm not normally this forward but...stay with me tonight."

John gently caressed the side of Elizabeth's hand with his thumb.

Without breaking their gaze, Elizabeth reached out and passed her free hand over the crystal sensor, opening the door. Neither said a further word as Elizabeth pulled John along with her into the room, the door sliding closed with a soft hiss once they passed through.

The halls of Atlantis sang with a soft melody in the darkness of the night, and the two leaders of the expedition became one as their energies joined in with the divine symphony of the season.

THE END


End file.
